The 2008 AFL National Draft has proven to be a kind one for the Brisbane Lions.

The Club not only welcomed Daniel Rich and Jack Redden with its first two selections (Picks 7 and 25 overall), but later secured Vice-Captain Tom Rockliff with Pick No.5 in the Pre-Season Draft after the dual Club Champion was surprisingly overlooked 85 times in the National Draft.

The trio have all since gone on to play 100 senior games for the Lions, and look set be an integral part of the Club’s exciting future.

They will now be joined in Brisbane by one of the other success stories from the 2008 AFL National Draft, Dayne Beams.

Beams was taken by Collingwood with Pick No.29 at that particular draft meeting, and currently boasts 110 senior matches.

Only Stephen Hill (128 games with Fremantle), Steele Sidebottom (127 games with Collingwood), Dan Hannebery (120 games with Sydney), and Redden (112 games with the Lions) have played more than Beams from that particular draft class.

The exciting part for Lions fans is that the high quality quartet are all about to entire the prime of their playing careers.

Beams is the oldest (he will turn 25 in February next year), while Redden won’t turn 24 for another couple of months.

Add Pearce Hanley (he turns 26 next month), Dayne Zorko (turns 26 in February next year), and Matthew Leuenberger (26) to the mix, and you can begin to see that the Lions are developing a strong core of players in that key age demographic.